The Bookstore Mage

Thankfully, Moon's injuries were not that serious. After casting Tadawsa, she quickly jumped on his shoulders and refused to get down. Lucien didn't mind, a sigh of relief escaped his lips.

The floating head was burned with nothing left to show for it. The only indication that remained of its existence was the corpse of the poor man sprawled on the ground with his guts spilling.

Lucien subconsciously averted his gaze. He had never seen murder before, and certainly not one as bloody as this. It was completely different than the movies. The smell was overwhelming, and the sight was enough to make his lunch threaten to jump from his stomach.

'But what should I do? I can't leave the poor guy like this.' A part of him wanted nothing to do with this whole situation. He was tempted to bolt out of this alley and never look back again.

Yet another look at the man's horrified face made him hesitate. It just didn't feel right to leave him like this, behind a dumpster. Lucien didn't know the guy, he didn't know if he was a good or a bad person, he didn't know his name, he knew nothing about him.

This, however, did not stop his mind from making up stories and scenarios about how his family must be waiting for him. His wife? His kids? His parents? His dog?

The more he thought about this, the worst he felt. Still, his rational side calmed him down. What could he do? Get the authorities, and then what? Explain how a floating head with dangling organs killed the man and attacked him.

He'd be lucky to get sent to a psych ward. No matter how Lucien looked at it, the situation was not in his favor. Anyone who stumbled upon this might just suspect him. It's only reasonable to do so.

Just as he was thinking about all of this, a change in the mana made him perk up. 'A mage, or is it something else?' He nervously gulped and got ready to face the newcomer.

The sound of steps grew louder, causing Lucien's heart to thump faster in his chest.

After a second, a familiar face appeared at the entrance of the dark alley.

"Mr. Lucien." The dark-skinned lady spoke in a respectful tone.

"Nia, right?" Lucien asked hesitantly.

"I'm honored you remembered my name. We'll take care of things over here, please get some rest." She replied.

Lucien frowned before nodding:

"I see, well then, thank you for your help."

"It's our duty," Nia answered with a bow.

Lucien did not dare dally there any longer. Since the Council said they'll handle it, then he'd leave it for them to do so.

His walk back home was like a dream. Lucien didn't remember much of it until he reached the bookstore. The bell chimed as he entered and locked the door behind him. Moon jumped off his shoulders and ran upstairs.

Lucien on the other hand fell to the ground with his back leaning on the door. The entire day was a little bit too much for him. An old Vampire attacking him during the day, and a floating head from hell attacking him at night. Since when had his life been so dangerous?

Then there was the Council. Why was Nia there? The only plausible conclusion Lucien could come up with was that they were watching him. He was not stupid. First the Hermits, then the Goldhearts, and now the Council. Everyone in the magic world seemed to have some sort of misunderstanding regarding his identity, and possibly his magic level.

Lucien guessed that was the reason everyone was so respectful when talking to him. Since the stories he heard about the main families, and the Council, depicted them as anything but nice.

Another long sigh escaped his lips as Lucien buried his head in his hands. He missed his grandpa. He missed the days when he did not have to worry about being attacked by a random monster or magical creature.

After a couple of minutes of trying to calm himself down, Lucien groggily stood up. He moved the window blinds and scanned the street outside. The flow of mana was normal, so he was unable to catch anything strange.

Lucien nonetheless was sure that he was being watched.

'Since the Council's job is to maintain order in the magical world, then I suppose I'm considered an unknown element. They should be keeping tabs on me. They think I'm a high-rank mage, so they didn't want to risk offending me, but they can't just let me be since there's always the danger of me going out of control.' Lucien inwardly analyzed his situation while pacing around the bookstore.

"So what should I do?" He suddenly paused. This misunderstanding came with a lot of advantages, but It was also laced with danger.

Rubbing his head, Lucien's expression turned worried. He removed his jacket and made his way upstairs. Without changing his clothes, Lucien sat down on the desk by his window and grabbed an empty notebook.

"From what I understand so far, mages are divided into ranks:

Novice— Apprentice— Journeyman— High Mage— Sage— Archmage.

Each rank is further divided into three smaller stages:

Bronze— Silver— Gold."

It was a fairly simple grading system. The only problem was that Lucien had no idea how it worked. What rank was he supposed to be at? And what dictated such a thing? Was it the number of spells mastered? Or perhaps their power?

Lucien made sure to jot down everything in his notebook.

"I wonder what rank was that Vampire." He suddenly mumbled.

With a sigh, Lucien closed the notebook and threw it on the desk. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and used Imer to grab his phone from the bed.

After aimlessly scrolling through the internet, Lucien decided on pizza again for dinner and placed his order.

Turning around, Lucien glanced at Moon who was seated on the bed with a strange expression.

"Now you, when did you get so strong?" he asked with a faint smile. Moon on the other hand replied with an innocent meow before she jumped off the bed and ran downstairs.

"Does it have something to do with the bond I feel between us?" Lucien wondered out loud.

Ever since he saved Moon, brought her home, and named her, a strange bond seemed to have formed between them. They were able to communicate with emotions. Lucien was not quite sure how that worked, but most of the time he had no problem understanding Moon.

"Interesting."